Five Hours in a Balloon
by Threni
Summary: In which Mistoffelees and Cassandra spend a lovely afternoon floating over London in a makeshift balloon...
1. Chapter 1

**Five Hours in a Balloon**

 **I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **For a long time I have thought that Mistoffelees and Cassandra would make a sweet couple, and I have been rather disappointed with the limited number of Fanfictions to depict them as such. The obvious solution was to write one myself.**

 **I**

"Don't worry, I won't let you walk into anything," Mistoffelees promised.

"I don't know why you insist upon being so mysterious," Cassandra grumbled as she closed her eyes. She wondered what he was up to. As she felt his gentle paws holding her arms a tingle went down her spine and she felt a surge of excitement, but she was adept at keeping those feelings hidden.

"Just keep your eyes shut and you'll find out in a few minutes." He carefully guided her around a corner. "All right, you can open them!"

She did and saw a crate lined with towels and a large blanket tied to it. With forced calmness, though inwardly she was crestfallen, she said "All right. Interesting."

Mistoffelees laughed. "I know you're disappointed. But you'll understand in a minute. Here, climb in!"

He helped her into the crate and then climbed in himself.

"What are these towels for?"

"We don't want to stand for hours on hard wood, do we? Don't want any nasty splinters either."

She looked around. Stand here for hours? "All right, Mistoffelees, out with it: what are you up to?"

He held up his paws and waved them around. A streak of blue energy burst from them. The large blanket lit up as if was a neon sign and rose, on its own accord, into the air. As it rose it naturally pulled the crate it was tied to with it.

Cassandra's mouth opened slightly and she looked about as surprised as she ever did. "You've made a hot air balloon!"

He grinned at her.

"I never knew you possessed this kind of magic!"

"I wanted to keep it a surprise!"

She often could not help but be amazed at this cat. He always found new ways to surprise and impress her in ways no other cat was capable. "Is there anything you _can't_ do with magic?"

"Sure. Restoring life, traveling through time, diminishing Tuggar's mane and ego—"

Cassandra had to laugh. It was a dark and melodic sound that Mistoffelees loved hearing. "I'm not expecting miracles!"

They had reached an elevation now where they were higher than most of the buildings in London. Mistoffelees stopped the conversation so he could focus on directing the balloon. After all, if his spell went wrong they could easily fall to their deaths, and that would be a rather depressing way to end this little outing. Cassandra took the opportunity to look about them.

She had never in her life been this high up. It was like looking at another world almost. The cars below them looked like the tokens human children played board games with. The masses of people were little more than multicolored dots moving in random directions. And it was so strange to see the rooftops of buildings that had always towered imposingly over her. The Thames was flowing sluggishly before them, twisting and cutting through the city like a giant gray snake.

"Well? What do you think?"

Cassandra had a little trouble thinking of the right superlatives. "This is rapturous!"

"Not my choice of words, but I agree with the general idea," he grinned.

She swatted his arm playfully. "That's because your vocabulary is not as refined as mine is! I shall have to work on fixing that."

Mistoffelees caught her paw. "Oh you will, will you?"

"Yes I shall." She replied, holding her nose upwards pompously as if she was some socialite matriarch. Mistoffelees just started laughing, and she started laughing. "Actually, I have enough eloquence for the pair of us. I much prefer you just the way you are."

"I'm very glad to hear you say so,"

There was nothing Mistoffelees would have liked more at that moment than to wrap his paws around this beautiful queen and kiss her, but unfortunately, as the balloon gradually floated over the river a few pigeons and a seagull flew over to investigate the strange sight. He was compelled to turn away and shoot a bolt of electricity at the makeshift flock. He did not want those beaks and claws anywhere near the balloon if he could help it.

Feeling a bit mischievous now, and a bit eager to impress Cassandra even further, he used his magic to maneuver the balloon so that it was directly in line with the London Eye Ferris Wheel and rose in synchronization with the cars. The people on the ride could hardly believe their eyes and instinctively pulled out their phones.

Cassandra scowled. "Mistoffelees, take us higher. I don't want my profile ending up on those wireless computer machines and have a horde of ninnies squealing about how cute they think we are. It's undignified for a Jellicle. Take us higher."

At once had the balloon veered off while wafting upwards and headed back over the river.

"I'm sorry, Cass, I completely forgot they were likely to do that,"

"How could you forget something like that?" Cassandra asked scornfully, "They do it all the time! _You_ of all cats should know! A few hundred are taking your picture every time you do a magic show!"

"Which means I've grown so accustomed to it I don't think about it anymore," Mistoffelees said quietly.

Cassandra's foul mood vanished and she apologized at once. "But still, let's avoid humans for today, all right?"

"As well as we can," Mistoffelees promised. "Oh look, we're right above St. James's Park,"

She did and saw beautiful green lawns, the rounded of tops trees, and a small green lake that appeared to be in the shape of a leg bone, with a wooded island on both ends, and a bridge running through the middle.

There was something magical about all of this, Cassandra thought. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful sight, and she was with an amazing Tom. Forgotten was her annoyance over camera phones. Instead she felt wonderful. She almost felt like she could just leave the balloon and through the air herself.

"You could try it once, I suppose," Mistoffelees commented when she told him this. Cassandra had to laugh again. It had once been rare for her to laugh ever, yet somehow this Tom always knew what to say. "I suppose _you_ could do it,"

"Of course! Would you like me to?"

She shook her head vigorously. "Not when we're up this high. What if something went wrong?" For a moment he saw fear in her eyes, so he hastily dropped the idea. The balloon rose in silence for a few minutes.

"So," Mistoffelees said eventually, "where do you want to go?"

"Can you get us out of London?"

"Of course. But which direction?"

"Could you maybe get us to Paris?" she asked hopefully. "Don't laugh! You know how much I have wanted to see it!"

Mistoffelees stopped laughing but kept smiling. "Not today, I'm afraid. I've never used this spell for such a length of time yet. I don't know if it'll last for such a distance, and I certainly don't want to risk it over the Channel until I do."

Cassandra nodded. "But one day soon, perhaps?"

"We could just ask Skimble for train times and sneak a ride, you know."

She drew nearer to him, "But this way would be so much nicer! It would just be us and no stupid humans and noisy engines. Just the two of us gliding over the English and French countryside's with an endless horizon before us, bound for a metropolitan center of the arts. Does it not sound wonderful?"

Mistoffelees felt his breath hitch up, as it often did when she was standing so close. "I'll get us to Paris one day, Cass, don't worry. But where shall we go today?"

"Well, why not just see how far north we can go?"

"That sounds fine to me." He tightened one of the knots.

She eyed them nervously. "Specifically how long does this spell perform for, anyway?"

"My longest test lasted four and three quarter hours. But I was only six meters off the ground for that." He thought a moment. "How about we head north a ways and find a nice hill to land on before heading home?"

For lack of an alternative preference, Cassandra consented.

It was a beautiful day in autumn. After an early morning drizzle the sun was finally coming out as the short afternoon began, drying the ground a little and turning the leaves golden and red, lighting the grass and pine trees in a warm green hue, and changing the sky from dull gray to a lovely cobalt blue. Yet despite the change in weather the air was still crisp and chilled, and there was little warmth to be found even when standing in the direct sunlight. Mistoffelees did not mind so much, but Cassandra's sleek coat was very thin. Seeing her start to shiver Mistoffelees picked up a spare blanket, which he had brought for just such an occasion, and draped it around her.

"Alonzo would have kept me warm by embracing me for a long time," she remarked.

"And your relationship with him fell apart after a month," Mistoffelees replied without missing a beat, "I don't think his example is one to be followed."

"You had better not." Cassandra said rather sharply.

"Cass, I'd never cheat on you. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes. I also knew that about Alonzo, but that didn't keep him faithful, did it?"

Mistoffelees put his paws on her shoulders. "Cass, I said it before and I'll say it to the day I die: I will _never_ cheat on you."

She looked into his eyes and believed him. Perhaps it was only because she wanted to, but she believed him nevertheless. "Of course, Alonzo and I weren't made for each other. That became obvious fairly swiftly. Our breakup was doomed to happen sooner or later."

"Same with me and Electra," Mistoffelees muttered. "You and Lon were better suited for each other than we were. You at least lasted a month. We split up after the first date." He put a paw on his head wearily. "That was a rough night."

"I've been meaning to ask: did you really turn her coat blue?"

He buried his face in his paws. "I was trying to light a candle. Used the wrong spell. And then I couldn't figure out how to reverse it and ended up turning our dinner into a pile of wintergreen berries."

Cassandra winced. "You don't have to tell me the rest if you don't want to."

"You're right, let's talk about something else. Hold on a minute, we're getting too high, I'm going to lower us a little."

"Could you actually take us higher? Now that we're up here, I feel a sudden craving to touch a cloud."

Mistoffelees looked around, raising his whiskers in amusement. Cassandra looked around too. There were no clouds in sight.

"It's autumn in London," she said defensively, "I naturally expect clouds to always be around at this time of year."

"If we see one I'll try to get us close enough. I'd like to touch one too, now that I think of it. But for now…" He waved his arms and the balloon began to descend slowly.

Cassandra smiled. "And that song just calls you 'clever'. I would use the term 'amazing' or 'incredible'. You know, Alonzo was a bit jealous of you."

"Oh?" He tried to sound uninterested.

"Yes. He always wondered why you'd picked me, of all cats, for that magic trick to bring back Old Deuteronomy, and thought he had a rival. Of course, then you had your 'dinner' with Electra and lost all interest in any sort of romantic attachments, so he decided his fears were groundless."

"Not entirely," Mistoffelees replied, "Considering we're together now,"

"Yes, but you never asked me out until after I'd broken up with him." She eyed him curiously. "You know, I don't know myself why you chose me for that trick. You've never said."

"Nobody's ever asked,"

"Oh they've asked, believe me!"

Indeed, others had. After he selected her that night for his magic trick, a number of Jellicles had thought as Alonzo had, including her. Had Mistoffelees been trying to convey a hint that he was interested in a romantic relationship with Cassandra? But they had had a limited interacted afterwards, and Alonzo, perhaps eager to beat him to the punch, had quickly asked Cassandra out. Not long afterwards Mistoffelees and Electra had begun their short lived and dismal relationship. During this period his motives at the Jellicle Ball remained a mystery.

"Well they've never asked _me_ about it." He shook his head, "That was quite a night, wasn't it? I don't remember a Jellicle Ball ever having so much happen."

"Nor I and I've been with the tribe considerably longer."

She looked over the sides again. They had passed out of London and were drifting towards the Epping Forest. Numerous ponds were beneath them, as were thick forests of trees which obscured much of the smaller roads from sight. To the right she could see houses that looked something like rows of scales on a reptile, only they had lines of trees and roads dividing them. On second thought she felt it somewhat resembled a painting by Klimt. Not in terms of the colors but the shapes and random yet deliberate directions.

She became aware Mistoffelees was watching her. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Our first date. Remember?"

"Of course I do. We saw the Royal Ballet's production of _The Sleeping Beauty_. How could I forget? Though I must say, I was very surprised you asked me to go with you."

What had happened was this: Mistoffelees had been approached by his sister Victoria, her mate Plato, and their friends Jemima and Tumblebrutus. They announced they were going to see the ballet and invited him to come with them. So that he would not feel like a fifth leg, they had offered to set him up with someone. Mistoffelees still suspected they were really doing this to find him a mate, which had rather irritated him. He had only accepted on the grounds that he be allowed to do the 'setting up' himself. He then left the house for a while and on his return announced that Cassandra had agreed to come.

After that, the two began to attend the theatre together on a regular basis. Operas, plays, ballets, and to a lesser extent musicals and magic shows. Some of these magic shows were performed by Mistoffelees himself. On a few occasions, especially during the early weeks, other Jellicles, namely Victoria and Plato, would accompany them, but for some time now it had just been the two of them attending the performances. They had been to every major theatre in London at least once, and at length Mistoffelees had suggested they do something different, and Cassandra agreed. And thus they were floating over the earth.

"If you don't mind my asking," Cassandra said slowly, "Why did you pick me, of all the Jellicles?"

Mistoffelees thought a moment. "Well, for starters, you were the most likely to agree to come, seeing how it was a ballet."

"True. That was one problem that came between me and Alonzo. He never truly cared about the theatre. He would go with me and he respected obvious talent, but he never felt stirred by what he saw. I could always see the indifference in his eyes. But was that the only reason?" She was hoping very much that he would say it was not.

Mistoffelees looked away from her a little. This was not quite how he was picturing this trip going. He had every intention of answering her question, but he had intended to do it on his own terms, when the time was right. "If you don't mind _my_ asking, why did you agree to come?"

She shrugged. "I went to see _The Sleeping Beauty_. I certainly did not expect we would go on to see more shows. You told me yourself to think of it as 'just an outing with a group of friends'."

"Yes," he acknowledged, "I was afraid you'd say 'no' if you thought it was an attempt to…"

Cassandra eyed him expectantly. "To…?"

Mistoffelees could feel sweat on his fur and in his nervousness he began to fade from visibility.

"What's the matter? You only do that when you're afraid of something. What's wrong, what is it?"

"Nothing!" he blurted unconvincingly.

Cassandra's ears lowered suspiciously. Luckily for Mistoffelees, one of the knots started loosening and he had to rush over to tighten it.

"You know, I was very surprised you said 'yes'," he quickly said as he worked, "After what happened with Alonzo, I thought you'd never look twice at a Tom again,"

"As did I," she admitted, "But as I said, I only went that first time because I wanted to see the ballet,"

"And everything else we've gone to since then? Were you only going to see those?"

"I think what you really mean is: would I have gone alone or with anyone else?"

"Yes, I suppose that's what I mean." This was something that had been bothering him ever since that first outing.

Cassandra gave him a piercing stare which made him feel she could see into his very soul. "Have I ever shown any inclination I wanted to see a show with anyone else?"

"Not when I'm around, but I don't know what you think about and…and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up, it shouldn't matter to me what your motives—"

"Stop rambling," Cassandra said, "you were right to bring this up, because no relationship lasts without honesty."

"Then in all honesty, I can't help but wonder if I am nothing more than your theatre companion."

Cassandra's gaze softened. "Is that what you think of yourself as?"

"It feels like that's all I've been for the past few months," he said bitterly.

She put a paw on his shoulder. "But you've enjoyed yourself, haven't you?"

"Of course I have! But I…I honestly don't know what to say now,"

"I've gone to the theatres with you because I enjoy it. I enjoy what we see and I enjoy having your company. Would I go alone if you were busy? Perhaps, if it was something I particularly wanted to see and if I could be of no assistance to you. But I doubt I would enjoy it as much without you. Would I ask anyone else to come with me? Only my sister Exotica or perhaps your sister, if you did not mind, but I doubt either of them would come." She moved her paw so it was touching his face. "But you are not just my 'theatre companion' **.** I—I would rather—" she suddenly fell silent.

Mistoffelees wanted to ask her what was wrong, but only then did they realize that the balloon had been descending for so long it finally and quite naturally landed on the ground.

"Oh," he looked about them. They had landed in a large field beyond the Epping Forest.

Cassandra looked around as well. "Are we going to continue the flight or stop here for a while?"

He suddenly staggered and put a paw to his head.

"Mistoffelees?"

"I think we'll have to stay here a while," he said weakly. He felt incredibly dizzy.

"Mistoffelees, what's wrong? Is it your magic?"

"Yes," He took a few steps and sank to the ground. Lightheadedness was one of the main side effects his magic had on him, especially with the more elaborate and drawn out spells.

Cassandra helped him lie down on the grass. "I've never seen you have a reaction this bad before,"

"Keeping a balloon that high in the air for a long time is pretty tiring work," he admitted as he took a deep breath, "I'm not used to it," and with that he promptly fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

When he woke up he saw Cassandra sleeping next to him, one arm wrapped around his chest and her face pressed against his shoulder. Smiling, he gently ran a paw down her back. Her brown fur was incredibly soft and sleek, and the warmth of her body contrasted comfortingly with the coolness of the grass beneath him.

His movements woke her. She blinked a few times and remembered where she was. "Good evening,"

"Not quite," he said easily. Being on his back he could see the sky and judge the time much better than she could.

"It certainly feels cool enough to be evening," she muttered.

"Well cheer up! It means we'll be floating home during sunset!"

"How's your head? Feeling better?"

"Much better, thanks." But he felt no urge to get up. He quite liked where he was.

Cassandra also liked where she was, but she stood up and stretched gracefully.

"How soon do you plan to leave?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Whenever you like,"

"Then, as I'm still cold, I think I'll dance a while, if you have no objections,"

Mistoffelees could never object to her dancing and she knew it. For him there were few lovelier sights. There was no music playing, but he knew she could hear it perfectly in her head. When Cassandra danced she forgot about the rest of the world. She was only caught up in the moment itself, and she threw her entire soul into her graceful and limber movements. It was as though someone had bewitched her. Everything she did was elegant, flawlessly calculated, and passionate. When she danced every move she made was driven by emotions, whether it was the emotions of Odette in _Swan Lake_ when she first falls in love with Siegfried or the emotions of Odette after she is betrayed, Cassandra threw her entire body and soul forcefully into portraying it.

She also had the technical skill to equal the emotions. Mistoffelees was no stranger to skilled dancers, as his sister Victoria was widely considered the best dancer in the Jellicles. Mistoffelees privately disagreed with that. Victoria could hit the steps flawlessly, and her technique was superior to Cassandra, but Victoria could never match Cassandra's range of emotions and power.

To summarize the differences, if an impresario was staging a ballet with no plot, such as _Jewels_ , Victoria was the ideal dancer for a leading part. But if an impresario was staging a ballet with a tragic story, such as _La Bayadere_ , then Cassandra would make a better lead. So Mistoffelees thought, at any rate. And the more Cassandra danced, the more enchanted he became, to the point where he wondered which of them had genuine magical powers.

Cassandra twirled around and then performed a fondu, which she held for an extended length of time. Mistoffelees saw her eyes slide back into focus as she breathed deeply. She was conscious of the rest of the world again. He broke into applause. She looked embarrassed.

"Did you like it? Was it good?"

"Cass, you'd give Diana Vishneva a run for her money,"

Diana Vishneva was a ballerina Cassandra greatly admired, so for her this compliment meant a great deal. She held her arms out, "Won't you dance with me?"

Mistoffelees stood up and fell over.

"Are you still dizzy?" Cassandra asked in alarm, but to her relief Mistoffelees was laughing.

"No, my foot's fallen asleep!"

She laughed too and pulled him to his feet. "Then we shall wake it up! Come!"

And before he knew it, they were like Princess Aurora and Prince Désiré during their wedding scene. Since there was no music it was difficult to know what the other cat was going to do, so Mistoffelees allowed her to lead. Being a highly competent dancer himself, he had no real difficulty in matching her movements. His only real problem was not the technique: it was keeping his focus on the dancing instead of her! Being locked in Cassandra's arms was the closest thing to paradise for him. Abruptly he stopped.

"What is it?" Cassandra asked uncertainly. He kissed her.

She did not attempt to stop him. On the contrary, as soon as the surprise was over, she kissed him back with as much passion as she had demonstrated in her dancing.

"Cassandra?" he whispered when their heads finally pulled apart. Their bodies remained in a tight embrace.

"Yes?"

He was about to speak when his ears went down and he groaned. "Oh great."

She matched his annoyed tone. "What?"

"A couple of humans are coming up here."

She frowned. "And doubtless they'll have those cameras and start 'awing' when they see us. Let's get going before they arrive. And whatever you were going to say, you're telling me at the next appropriate moment." She added. She was not letting him off the hook this time.

She need not have worried. Mistoffelees had already decided on an excellent opportunity to tell her.

They quickly got into the balloon and he got it into the air. By this point sunset was beginning. The sun glowed like a brilliant piece of heliodor. The clouds that were gathering around it were the shades of rubies and fire opals. Below them the ground ranged between dark green and black. The Thames was now a river of molten gold. The buildings beneath them cast long shadows on each other. Pale orange lights were on all over London, but at this point it was not dark enough for them to make an impact on visibility. Venus could be seen, shining like a tiny diamond.

"I am glad those humans came," Cassandra remarked, "We might have missed this otherwise,"

Mistoffelees sighed happily. "I wish I was a poet. Then I could write about looking at a beautiful Queen standing against a beautiful sky, and actually do them justice. Perhaps you _should_ help me refine my vocabulary."

Cassandra smiled warmly. If he had been made of silver he would have melted on the spot.

He could not stand waiting anymore. It was time to take the plunge and hope things turned out well. "Cassandra? You know how you were asking about why I picked you at the Ball?"

She stiffened a little. "Yes?"

"Why do you think I picked you?"

She had not been expecting to be asked a question, and it dismayed her to some degree. She did not look at him but examined one of her claws. "It's hard to say, Mistoffelees. Sometimes I've wondered if you were trying to express some kind of interest in me, sometimes I've thought you just picked me at random, sometimes I've thought it was because you disliked me and wanted someone you saw as expendable in case the spell didn't work, and other times I've thought there might have been some kind of magical requirement for the spell to work, you know, maybe short haired brown cats disappeared more easily than others, I don't know." she now looked at him. "So were any of my theories correct?"

"The first one was," he said. "I've been attracted to you almost since the moment I first saw you."

She concealed her surprise. "Why has it taken you so long to act, then?"

"You know what I'm like around others, Cass. Tugger wasn't kidding when he sang 'you would think there was nobody shyer'. And you never showed any interest in me, so I'd get cold feet every time I plucked up the courage to ask you out."

"And at the Jellicle Ball?"

"I kept trying to dance with you, but Alonzo was always getting there first. So when my magic trick came up, I thought 'now's my chance!' And when we did our little dance when I brought you before Old Deuteronomy…" he smiled at the memory, "I felt I was going to burst with happiness. I didn't want to push it any further that night, but I thought within a few days we'd meet up again and we'd talk about the spell and soon…well, you can imagine," His smile faded. "But apparently Alonzo had figured out my intentions, because the next thing I knew you two were proclaimed a couple."

"And you did nothing," Cassandra said. Not accusingly, but merely stating a fact.

"I couldn't bring myself to." He said sadly, "as best as I could tell, you two looked perfectly happy. What right did I have to interfere with your relationship? It was your life and your decision, and I didn't want to get you involved in a stupid and painful love triangle. So I decided, since you and Alonzo seemed happy together, it was for me to be happy for you and leave you two alone. I still had hopes that we could become close friends if nothing else."

Cassandra carefully rested a paw on his arm. "I'm proud of you, Mistoffelees. That couldn't have been easy for you, but I think it was incredibly noble. Alonzo would never have been go gracious." She added with disgust.

He grimaced, "Of course, I sure felt lonely for the next few weeks. Ironic, wasn't it? I was lonely and upset right after I'd had my moment of glory and became the most sought after cat in the tribe. Electra expressed a clear interest in me, and at Victoria's urging I asked her out. And you know how that went."

"Did Victoria know?"

"About how I felt towards you? She suspected the attraction early on, but when I declined to interfere in your relationship with Alonzo, she assumed that was just me being scared, not noble."

"And then Lon and I fell apart and you had the chance you wanted." Cassandra continued for him.

"Yes, but it didn't feel right to ask. You'd just broken up and I was terrified I'd mess up the date like I had with Electra. But when they asked me to go to the ballet and suggested I bring someone else…it felt like exactly what I'd been waiting for. I knew you loved ballet, so you were unlikely to say 'no'—though I was absolutely convinced you would, no matter how much I tried to reassure myself—and the presence of others would make it seem less of a date and more—"

"Like an outing with a group of friends," she finished, recalling his earlier words.

He nodded. "Cass, the simple truth is I love you. I've been in love with you for a long time and…and I know it's probably asking a bit too much now, but if you feel the same way, then I don't see why we…I don't see the point in waiting anymore, so…look, Cass, I promise—"

"You're rambling again," Cassandra said. She placed her paws on either side of his face and looked into his eyes. "Mistoffelees, whatever you want to say to me, please, just say it. Don't worry about my reaction."

He smiled weakly. "All right. Will you be my mate? For life, I mean?"

Cassandra traced a claw through the fur on his face.

Mistoffelees was confused. "You don't seem surprised."

"Should I be?" she asked lightly, "It was fairly obvious what you were building this discussion up to."

"Oh."

"And before I answer, I think you ought to hear my side of the story. I did think you were cute when we first met, but I was not attracted to you. You might remember I was a bit of a flirt in those days."

"Yes,"

"I had known Alonzo for a long time before that, and I knew we were bound to end up lovers sooner or later. At the time I could hardly imagine anything less. So when you selected me at the Ball, I was very confused at first. And I will admit I felt wonderful dancing with you for those few moments. But I soon forgot about it because Alonzo asked me out within a few hours of it happening."

"He really felt threatened by me," Mistoffelees had to comment.

"Yes. And at first it seemed meant to be. A dream I did not wish to wake up from." She spoke heavily, her morose gaze drifting to the ground as she remembered. "I'd always known Lon was just as much as flirt as I had been, but once we were together I tried my best to give it up and I thought he was doing the same. And at first perhaps he did. I did from time to time catch him getting 'frisky', in his words, with other Queens, but he'd always reassure me that they were just talking and such talk would lead to nothing, and I tried my best to believe him. And then came that day when I came home and—" she was holding a towel and now twisted it so tightly that she nearly pulled the two ends apart.

"You don't have to tell me this part, Cassandra," Mistoffelees said quickly. "I already know the gist of it."

"Doesn't the whole Junkyard?" she spat, "but to catch him in the act of cheating on me…and she was not even a Jellicle! He chose a stray over a Jellicle—what does that say about his tastes if he stooped that low?"

Mistoffelees looked down at the crate bottom now, unsure of what exactly to say. "Aren't you glad it wasn't a Jellicle? Isn't it better he didn't betray you with someone you knew?"

"True, but he still made it clear he preferred a stray over me," she growled. The Jellicles were not usually too selective or exclusive, but for Cassandra, being part of the tribe was a special privilege. To her, the Jellicles were 'the Select Few,' the 'Chosen Ones' if you will, so to have Alonzo prefer someone outside of this group was a major insult in her eyes. "So yes, there was a scene, and a big fight, and within an hour I was back living with my sister, vowing I would never risk my heart again." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Of course, I soon decided that vow was impetuous, but I was much more wary afterwards. And then, out of nowhere, you asked me to the ballet."

"And you came because you wanted to see it," Mistoffelees said.

"Yes I did. And while at first I went with you to all those performances just to see them, I can say now, with perfect honesty, that I never saw you as my 'theatre companion'. I saw you first as a friend, and bit by bit…well, it was after we saw _The Tempest_ , do you remember? I loved the scene between Ferdinand and Miranda so much that I was in a romantic mood the whole night, and I kept thinking about you, not as a friend or sibling, but as a mate. At first I assumed I was caught up in the moment and that this would soon pass, but it never did. And within a few days I realized that I…I…" she grabbed him and kissed him, "I realized that I loved you, Mistoffelees, and I would rather spend time with you than see the greatest and most perfect performances in history, and I would love nothing more than to be your mate for the rest of my life!"

When the balloon at last landed in the Jellicle Junkyard, she helped Mistoffelees out of it. He swayed about for a while but did not fall asleep this time. Regardless, she did not let go of him. Or he did not let go of her; it would be hard for a passerby to tell who was clinging to whom.

"So shall we go to Old Deuteronomy?" he asked.

At first she nodded eagerly. But then she paused. "I would like to, but…our sisters deserve to know first, would you not agree?"

He nodded, though disappointment was on his face. "I suppose so…"

"Two nights from now," Cassandra said, "Today is Sunday. By this time Tuesday night, we'll be mates—assuming Old Deuteronomy approves of it…"

"I can't imagine why he wouldn't," he looked up at the sky and estimated they had been in the balloon for an accumulative time of five hours. And in that time he had found himself a mate.

He held Cassandra tightly and kissed her on the brow. "It's only two nights, Cass…I can wait,"

She pressed him against a broken refrigerator and looked straight into his eyes. "Before we tell anyone, there is one thing I want to do. It's something my own parents did when they became mates."

"What is it?"

"Ask one thing of me and I swear, on the Everlasting Cat, I will do my utmost to grant it. And in return, you must swear to fulfill what I ask."

He nodded. "Ask it,"

"Stay faithful to me," she said.

"Cass, I already said—"

"That was before—I want to hear it now!" she gripped him fiercely, "I've already gone through one breakup because of infidelity, if you betrayed me as well, I—I don't know what I'll do, I don't know how I'll get over it, I—"

Mistoffelees placed a paw on her face and kissed her softly. "I swear it, Cass. You have nothing to worry about."

She nodded, considerably reassured. "Now ask something of me. You can ask the same thing, if you wish—though I'll stay faithful to you regardless of what you ask now,"

"Always tell me the truth,"

She looked surprised.

"You said yourself that no relationship lasts without honesty. And I want this one to last." He said sincerely.

She nodded and swore it.

He gestured to the pathway, "Shall we be going home? Who do you want to tell first, Exotica or Victoria?"

"Can't we wait a little longer?" she whispered.

They kissed again. "And Cass? Once we're mates, I'll find a way to fly us to Paris,"

She hugged him so suddenly and so fiercely that he fell over and pulled her with him. They flopped into a pile of clutter amidst groans and laughter.

Five hours in a balloon. It had been a very happy five hours, to put it mildly. And Mistoffelees hoped, with more fervor than he had ever felt before, that those five hours would not turn out to be the happiest hours they would ever spend together.

 **The End**


End file.
